Saturday, June 23, 2018

Congo by Michael Crichton

By

Scott D. Parker

I'm a book dork. Are you?

I’ve read many, but not all, of Michael Crichton’s
novels, but CONGO was one I had missed. I have the paperback, but it had
remained on my shelf for years. Earlier this spring, a comment on the
Doc Savage Facebook group said CONGO was a
pretty good lost city novel. It landed back on my radar. I flipped it
open and noticed one of the locations was Houston. How cool was that?
Additionally, the action began on 13 June 1979. And I got to thinking:
since I was already reading a book at the time,
why not wait until 13 June to start the book?

So I did. Book dork? Guilty as charged. But at least I didn’t wait until 13 June 2019 to start it.

The story opens with a transmission from a team in
the Congo back to their home base in Houston. The team is part of the
Earth Resources Technology Services (ERTS), one of two companies
searching for diamonds in the Congo rainforest. Just
before the video feed is abruptly cut off, there appears to be what
looks like a gorilla. Not just any ordinary ape, but something
different.

Soon, a second team, led by Dr. Karen Ross, sets
out to keep looking for the lost city and discover what happened to the
original team. Coming along is zoologist Dr. Peter Elliot and Amy, a
gorilla from the San Francisco Zoo that has learned
American sign language. Along the way, Ross recruits the famed white
hunter Captain Charles Munro to guide them.

I’ll admit it’s been awhile since I’ve read a
Crichton novel solely written by him. (I read the posthumously published
DRAGON TEETH last year.) I had forgotten just how much science the
author crams into his books. What particularly interested
me was some of the computer stuff the team had to do. In this age of
cell phones and satellite phones and instant access, it was charming for
Ross to have to wait six minutes for the satellites and her
communication equipment to sync up. Then there is always
the “As you Bob” moments that are liberally scattered throughout the
book. With the zoologist being the outside member of the team, he gets
to ask for clarification on things Ross and Munro know by heart. The
science, however, was fascinating, especially regarding
the attempts by scientist to teach apes communication skills. I found
it ironic timing that I completed the novel a day before Koko the
gorilla who learned American sign language died.

Unlike the JURASSIC PARK novel where, once the
dinosaurs escape, you are in a series of chases and near misses, the
action here is not as relentless. There are some political struggles
that erupt in gunfire, and a few brushes with death,
but CONGO is more a novel of discovery. In this, it’s a perfect book
for Crichton’s talents. What makes the book even better is its seeming
realness, almost as if Crichton is merely the author of a non-fiction
book depicting events that really happened.

CONGO is a perfectly fine book, not in Crichton’s
top tier novels, but well worth the time to read, especially if you
enjoy lost city stories like I do. Now, I’m going to conduct a little
search of my own and track down a copy of the 1994
movie.